Popular myths among drug users are prevalent, and perhaps none of these myths are as well-established whilst the misconception that it is difficult to become hooked on hallucinogens. While physical dependence and addiction to hallucinogens doesn’t occur as rapidly as addiction to opiates, barbiturates, benzodiazepines or alcohol, it will happen and might have severe results. Because those who use hallucinogens experience significant distortions in what they see, hear and feel, chronic use of these substances can lead to a host of psychological and physiological problems, including addiction syndrome.
Hallucinogens are an arduous class of drug to define but generally include any drugs that cause prominent altered states of perception that greatly distort a user’s capability to differentiate between what’s a hallucination and what’s reality. The most common and well known hallucinogen is LSD or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide – a robust hallucinogen synthesized from spurned wheat or corn ergot. Other hallucinogens include Ecstasy, PCP, Psilocybin, Mescaline, Ketamine and Dextromethorphan. And although some people might argue that not many of these drugs are true hallucinogens, all of them cause addiction.
In general LSD, ecstasy, psilocybin and mescaline are thought true hallucinogens and work by disrupting the brain’s ability to make and utilize serotonin. Serotonin helps to regulate sleeping patterns, mood and sexual desire, among other things. Other drugs which are not true hallucinogens – like Ketamine, PCP and Dextromethorphan – block the neurotransmitter glutamate, that is in charge of controlling cognitive functions like learning and memory.
Whether true hallucinogen or not, many of these drugs cause major disruptions in the senses and deprive the mind of its ability to use normally. In response the human body is likely to make changes in the central nervous system to conform to and mitigate the results of these drugs. With time and with continued use these changes become more permanent, culminating at a point where the human body only functions “normally” once the drug is in the system. This is recognized as physical dependency. While different as addiction, some individuals consider physical dependency and addiction to be synonymous with each other.
However, while addiction is a medical, neurological disease psychedelic mushroom chocolate bars for sale California, it is most often classified by a small grouping of behaviors as opposed to physical signs or symptoms. The reason being hallucinogens cause the pleasure and reward center in the mind to be stimulated. Once the mind associates a drug with an atmosphere of “reward,” it will continue to work to recreate that feeling whenever possible. Therefore, the longer a person uses a hallucinogen like LSD or ecstasy, the more associations are made in the mind that not only “remembers” the pleasurable feeling of hallucinating, but also the environments in which the use took place.
This entire associative process builds neurological pathways in the mind to service them. Because these pathways have a main purpose to recreate the pleasurable event, they cause severe and uncontrollable cravings in the user to have on top of the drug again and again, and true addiction is born.
Addiction to hallucinogens is equally as real and life threatening as addictions to drugs like heroin and cocaine. And because ab muscles nature of addiction doesn’t allow most sufferers to get help on their own, it’s your decision to have help if someone you adore is fighting an addiction to hallucinogens.
